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I was leafing through a home dec magazine looking for something else, when this wall with an ombre mural in blue, turquoise and white caught my eye. It’s from the home of designer Petri Hiltula in Finland.

Sameli Rantanen / Avotakka magazine, April 2015.

Featured in the Avotakka magazine (April 2015), the wall was designed by Susanna Sivonen. The name of the design is Origami kasvoi taivaalle (‘an origami grew into the sky’). The mural replaces the headboard in the bedroom.

Sameli Rantanen / Avotakka magazine, April 2015.

Gorgeous. At places the effect almost looks cloud-like due to the shapes in the paint treatment. The wall looks especially good in contrast to the plain white bedding, the original, exposed square log wall and wide plank floors. I think the extra-wide floor moulding is unusual these days, too, which contributes to the charm. Kudos!

I love the sense of blue sky the mural creates; it’s especially nice at the end of winter. I’m hoping spring will come early this year!

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

It’s not quite a pure ombre, but there’s enough of a graduating effect from one hue to another to be arresting and interesting. Love it!

Although, if I’m entirely honest, I’d never want this exact backsplash in my kitchen because I really hate cleaning grout. It would probably be easy to achieve a similar effect with a stencil and paint, though; no grout lines involved. 🙂

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

I’m fascinated by the thought that goes into making extremely small interiors work. Sure, decorating a space is (reasonably) easy. But when you need to take not just aesthetics but also economics, ergonomics and pragmatics into account, the challenge increases as the available space decreases.

Occasionally you find spaces that make functionality on multiple levels look supremely easy. Case in point: Velvet Morning, a canal boat available for overnight stay (Airbnb-style) in Maida Vale, London.

Look how adorable it is:

There are small heart cutouts in multiple places, the black iron hinges draw attention to the age of the boat and the doorways are elegantly arched.

Looks are not the only attraction, however: the kitchen looks fully equipped with a gas stove and oven, fridge, multiple cupboards and what looks like an apron-front sink. Little corner shelves increase the storage capability.

In the bathroom, there’s a tub, a drying rack, and – incredibly – a radiator AND towel rack squeezed between the tub and the wall, and a tiny backsplash behind the sink:

I don’t think I’d have any qualms about staying there, the details are obviously so well thought out. Appropriately, the owner / operator advertizes it as having “all the comforts of a cosy cottage and a steampunk vibe.” I can see the comforts so ingeniously built in, but I’m not sure I see the steampunkishness. What do you think?

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

Did you see the listing for the almost unbelievably ornate, wizard-esque custom house that’s been making rounds on the Internet? (Here it is on Zillow; found via Little Things.) This single-family house in Ashland, Oregon, is huge, HUGE – almost 9,000 square feet (about 825 square meters) – and has hand-carved woodwork, river-rock accents, sculpted banisters that look like trees, cloud-shaped windows and other organic designs, to name a few features.

Just look at the entry:

Via Zillow.

Wow. Clearly a lot of effort and skill went into building it. My favorite is the fireplace with two entwined mosaic dragons:

The industrial elements – metal, rivets, exposed pipes and brick – plus the patina of the wood and corrugated metal, combined with chunky leather sofas and a few large plants, deliver a certain old-world sentimentality. The result contains a subtle hint of steampunk while retaining modern comforts. Beautifully done! From the residential interiors photo collection by Scott Gabriel Morris at SGM Photography; found via Desire to Inspire.

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

Jourdan Lawlor and Tobin Ludwig created a home in a teeny, tiny Manhattan apartment. It’s only an incredible 242 square feet or approx. 22.50 square meters. You can tell that the apartment is a small one from the photos. Every basic home function has a place, however, and that makes all the difference.

The living room sofa hides a Murphy bed:

Max Touhey via Curbed NY / Yahoo Homes.

Max Touhey via Curbed NY / Yahoo Homes.

The sofa / Murphy bed sits right next to the apartment door:

Max Touhey via Curbed NY / Yahoo Homes.

Past the sofa / bed, there is a fold-away dining area:

Max Touhey via Curbed NY / Yahoo Homes.

With the sofa / bed and the apartment door to the left, a look towards the surprisingly large (for the space) kitchen. Note the shelf with a sliver of a counter space along the wall in the right corner:

Rooigem is a Belgian interior decoration and antiques company headed by Jean-Philippe Demeyer. Rooigem House was built in the Early Middle Ages as a moated courtyard house just outside Bruges. After being restored, it’s now both a home and place of business for Mr. Demeyer.

There is an abundance of incredible spaces. While the past is unquestionably there, it’s not overwhelming. Neither is the present, which asserts itself in the strong colors and bold motifs.

Tudor front door:

Tudor door. Jean-Philippe Demeyer.

Entrance porch:

Jean-Philippe Demeyer.

The north room:

Jean-Philippe Demeyer.

The orangerie:

Jean-Philippe Demeyer.

The hall:

Jean-Philippe Demeyer.

What makes these rooms stand out is the care with which Mr. Demeyer fills – or, strictly speaking, doesn’t fill – the areas: there is a pleasing amount of unclaimed space, rather like an art gallery. Additional oomph comes from the consistent use of massive historical and modern furnishings, fearless combination of old and new and, of course, the colors.

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.

Colors. There’s nothing quite like colors to trigger a home decoration dilemma, especially if more than one person is involved. I stumbled upon this past post from Desire to Inspire that features a riotously colorful apartment. Below are a few of the least(!) vibrant ones.

Living room:

Study(?):

Computer room:

Bathroom:

Wow, right? It’s clear that the owners love red, and can deal with a lot of color. They’re also clearly bold and unapologetic, if these were the photos they chose for their apartment-for-sale ad. I couldn’t live with that intensity of color myself. I do, however, admire the owners for investing in colors they so obviously love. Plus, the parrot wall is kinda awesome.